paracastello: a trove of signature designs by nigel coates

paracastello: a trove of signature designs by nigel coates

during the fuori salone this year, a surprise was in store for intrepid visitors scouring the brera design district. a gallery space at the advertising film agency H+ was temporarily transformed into paracastello, a signature design environment curated by nigel coates.

with a selection of pieces inspired by the castello di potentino in tuscany, coates drew together an impressive roster of his own work and others commissioned for the castle’s new design brand, potentino. (see designboom’s feature of the ‘potentino’ furniture pieces here)

john maybury’s film projects above the baciamano chair for fornasetti

‘para’ meaning ‘in support of’ or ‘derived from’ the actual castle… para-castello was intended to evoke the castle spirit without slavishly complying with it. coates is a frequent visitor to the actual castle and a great friend of its owner charlotte horton, who gradually transformed it from a restoration project into a vibrant tuscan destination for foodies and authenticity junkies. the challenge for this show was how to re-materialise it in a clean, much smaller, much less noble set of spaces.

‘picco’ loungers and ‘feral’ tables with the ‘ballerino’ chandelier for abate zanetti by nigel coates

coates also used the occasion to launch his own brand nigelcoates, showing his ‘picco’ and ‘feral’ ranges alongside new pieces for fornasetti, gebrüder thonet vienna, abate zanetti and nude crystal. potentino also commissioned a chair, table and valet stand from coates alongside their other commissions – ceramic tableware by gerry de bastiano, textile products including cushions and bathrobes by clare frost and outdoor furniture by jono nussbaum.

charlotte also has a distinct vision. ‘I began to realize that potentino should come back to life as the dynamic cultural hub it had always been, a place where man, nature and artful intelligence can meet, and create a ’21st century castle’.’ paracastello was a cue to capture the castle atmosphere and sense of place, and channel it through product and how we chose to show it.

potentino chairs around a picco table in solid ash, with de bastiano tableware

coates explains, ‘the idea was to make an environment that could stand up on its own, and make a desirable place to live. in fact that’s exactly what happened; we lived there for the week, treated salone punters as visitors to our home, and wined and dined them according to potentino hospitality. most days there was impressive food. on a couple of occasions we staged dinners for 12 around my ‘picco’ table – while sitting on potentino chairs, drinking out of my ‘headsup’ glasses, and eating off de bastiano plates. it certainly was an immersive experience.’

each of coates’ headsup glasses for nude have a distinct character of their own

those who already knew the castle felt as though they were actually there; others became curious about it. entering the first relatively darkened room, you’d sense this double sense of place. projected on the walls, john maybury’s dreamy film created imaginary windows puncturing through to the interior of the castle. alongside, coates’ baciamano chair for fornasetti assumed an ethereal sense of relaxation, its surreal undercurrent coinciding with the inherent other-worldly state of the castle.

a space to relax with coates’ lehnstuhl for gerbrüder thonet vienna and feral shelves under coates’ own label

light literally poured into the adjacent ‘rooms’. the ‘triclinium’ assembled three ‘picco’ loungers in stone-coloured leather stretched out as though they were reclining figures. next to it, the ‘studiolo’ contextualised the need for solitary study and contemplation. complete with footstool, the lehnstuhl bentwood chair was close enough to the ‘feral’ shelves to reach for a favourite book. the ‘feral’ bed virtually filled the bedroom, which was swathed in red cloth as though it were a four-poster. acknowledging the true castle culinary experience, the narrative of the dining room extended to compositions of hanging plates and sweeping red arches suggesting renaissance vaulted ceilings. sitting at the ‘picco’ dining table, you would be looking towards a verdant courtyard with outdoor furniture by jono nussbaum, another designer in the potentino stable.
instilling a strong sense of dynamism and detail, the dining set has been displayed in a contemporary environment

all of the designs shown seem to suit urban living, but have the added nuance of overt artisanship. charlotte’s ideas stem from making the most of materials and skills that are close at hand. craftsmen in a village nearby the castle on the slopes of the amiata mountain make the potentino furniture pieces. the pepone lamp is made in porcelain by a workshop in umbria, and de bastiano’s etruscan-inspired plates come from a ceramics laboratory in puglia.

hand blown in borosilicate glass, these lamps add an enigmatic touch

typically coates’ pieces also capture design interests that stem that from his tuscan experience, and his appreciation for the farmer’s way of doing things. he cites the kind of rustic pieces by rural craftsmen channeling ‘urban’ stereotypes of taste while inadvertently simplifying them in the making; what started as an acanthus leaf or baroque scroll in the mind of the maker might turn into a notched outline, and be reduced to a mere gesture towards the original.

coates’ ‘ballerino’ chandelier for abate zanetti has nearly ninety components in hand blown silvered glass

‘paracastello’ furniture succeeds in embracing town and country, simplicity and refinement, local and global — to suggest a more expansive approach to day-to-day life. seen as a whole, ‘paracastello’ offers a mix of humour, magic, and a reliable means to stimulate curiosity. these pieces embody the essence of potentino castle in adaptable, digestible forms that coates and horton hope may be more relevant today than the usual clichés of country living.

the bedroom with the ‘feral’ bed enveloped in red fabric is the perfect place to dream

1/19